Should cellphones and dining mix?

The next time you go out to eat, take a good look around and count the number of people on their cellphones at the table.

Perhaps you are even one of them.

I know I am — only if I am eating alone, though.

Come to think of it, most of the time I see someone eating by themselves, they are vigorously scrolling through texts or social media between bites.

This was especially true when I was in college.

I remember the cafeteria would be packed with students all fighting for a seat, yet there were always those people who, for whatever reason — maybe none of their friends had the same lunch time — would spread out their books and take an entire table for themselves, their attention glued to their phones.

This behavior is commonplace today. Although I cannot speak for everyone, it seems many people have ditched their friends and found a surrogate in their smartphone.

Last week I asked readers to tell me why they think this is. The first responses I got focused onsocial awkwardness.

“I think people feel uncomfortable (when they eat alone) because they have no idea what else to do or where to look,” Caitlin Thompson of Whitehall said. “I find myself awkwardly staring at people or things, or just at my food.”

Thompson said she makes sure she has her phone by her side for these situations and uses it to read informative articles and catch up on email.

Other people said the fixation with smartphones in public settings is an attempt to deter strangers from speaking to us.

Deb Dolatowski of Goodman thinks iPhones, tablets and laptops have given us more and more excuses to isolate ourselves.

In this sense technology comes full circle: the devices designed to connect us in turn isolate us from each other.

Perhaps we think having a phone in our hand makes us appear busy or occupied. That way we do not have to endure awkward social encounters. Yet, maybe the reason we are not equipped to handle these unexpected face-to-face interactions in the first place is because we do not take the time to look up from our screens and deal with the real life situations at hand.

A lot of readers suggested it is not just those unfamiliar social interactions we are avoiding, though.

What people seem to be truly saddened by are instances where two people are out to dinner, but are not speaking to one another because whatever they are looking at on their phones is more important.

It is clear there are some negative connotations associated with needing a phone to feel comfortable being alone in public places.

To me, it is all about balance. Having our gadgets when we really need them, while still being able to take in our surroundings and interact with real people.

Several readers suggested watching people is far more entertaining than a smartphone will ever be. Or they suggest pulling out a favorite book or newspaper.

I do think it is important to note that smartphones have allowed us to carry those books and papers in our back pockets.

So, maybe that person sitting alone in the corner booth is not really sitting with 500 of their closest Facebook friends. Rather they are just reading today’s issue of the Press-Gazette.